Humiliating and painful past events come flooding back, surging up in a massive wave that overwhelms the heart.

  Ling Jingyu looked at Lu An from afar, clenched her fists tightly, and then lowered her eyelids, trying to calm down the turmoil in her heart.

  Her enemy is within arm's reach, yet she cannot make a move. This feeling is really unbearable.

  It's hard to bear, but I have to endure it silently.

  To deal with Lu An and the Ling family means to overthrow the entire Lu family. For her, who was just a young lady in the boudoir, it was obviously just an extravagant hope. Before she had the ability to take revenge, she must first learn to endure...

  After Lu An spoke up, Ling Lao Tai Tai and Ling Da Ye, who had been crying in a heap, finally calmed down a lot.

  Old Lady Ling wiped away her tears with her sleeve and forced a smile, saying: "Look at me, at my age, I don't even have any self-control. Crying and wiping my nose in front of the main gate, making a fool of myself in front of Master Gou."

  Lu An smiled slowly, with great elegance, and said: "My mother-in-law and brother-in-law have been separated by life and death, and now that we meet again, my heart is filled with excitement and tears. It's hard to control one's emotions. How could I laugh at you, dear son-in-law?"

  Mrs. Ling had a lot of complaints about her son-in-law because of what the Lings said before, but when she really met him, the bad feeling in her heart went away a bit.

  Such a handsome and elegant appearance, the master of the Lu family, holding a high-ranking official position. In the land of Ji Zhou, he is almost as powerful as the Emperor himself. With such success and glory, it's hard to avoid being indulgent in women.

  The crowd surrounded Old Lady Ling and returned to Yonghe Hall in a grand manner, each sitting down to chat.

  The younger generation stood beside or behind their parents. Old Mrs. Ling sat at the head, with Mr. Ling on her right and Lu An on her left.

  Mrs. Ling first inquired anxiously about Lu An's journey and whether it was tiring, then it was Mr. Ling's turn.

  On such occasions, several of Madame Yue's and Madame Li's daughters-in-law were not qualified to interrupt, let alone a group of younger people.

  After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Old Lady Ling's emotions finally calmed down. Smiling at Lu An, she said: "For so many years, you've never come to our doorstep, only exchanging letters. You don't know the younger generation of the Ling family yet. I'll have them come one by one to pay their respects to you."

  The maternal uncle is a first-class noble guest. Moreover, this maternal uncle comes from the prestigious Lu family of Dazhou. The Lu family has at least a dozen officials in various parts of Dazhou, and Lu An's second brother, Lu Ping, serves as the chief officer of the Ministry of War in the capital city. Although his official position is not high, he is skilled at currying favor and somehow managed to ingratiate himself with the Yan King. Now, he has a certain reputation in the capital city.

  Due to these factors, Old Lady Ling was even more enthusiastic and polite towards Lu An.

  First were the younger generations of the main house of the Ling family, then the second and fourth houses, and finally it was the turn of the four siblings from the fifth house.

  "Nephew Ling Peng (Ling Xiao) (Ling Yu) has seen his uncle."

  "My niece Ling Jing Shu has met her uncle."

  Among three boys of different heights, Ling Jingxu in a light green dress stood out, with eyebrows and eyes like a painting, slender and upright. With her head bowed and face hidden, she could not conceal the radiance of her beauty.

  Lu An's gaze lingered on Ling Jingxu for a moment, and a flash of astonishment and fervor swiftly passed through the bottom of his eyes.

  He concealed this touch of emotion extremely well and immediately returned to normal, smiling warmly and kindly: "We're all family, no need for formalities."

  Lu Qian stood beside Lu An, closely observing every move and expression. When he saw the unusual glint in Lu An's eyes, his whole body froze. His hands trembled uncontrollably.

  Until Ling Jingxu finished her courtesy and retreated, Lu An's gaze was no longer on Ling Jingxu, and Lu Qian slowly let out the stifled breath in his chest.

  ......

  The sky darkened quickly.

  In the dining hall of Yonghe Hall, four tables were set. Two for men and two for women, also divided into seniors and juniors. They are all from the same family, so there is no need to worry about the distinction between men and women, and the screens are not used either.

  Children and grandchildren gathered around, reunited in one hall. Since our daughter got married, this is the first time we've had such a reunion.

  Mrs. Ling was in high spirits and had a few cups of thin wine. When her sons and daughters-in-law came to toast her, they just touched their lips to the cup. But when her son-in-law and daughter came to toast her, Mrs. Ling drank every drop.

  Taking advantage of the wine, Old Lady Ling said with ulterior motives: "I only have Ahui as my daughter, spoiled and pampered since childhood, strong-minded and selfish. Even when I'm good to her brothers, she'll still be jealous. These years married into the Lu family, there must be things she didn't do well or wasn't considerate enough, please forgive her, Brother-in-law."

  Lu An was not so foolish as to not understand the double meaning of Mrs. Ling's words, and his smile was somewhat awkward. He coughed and replied: "Mother-in-law is worrying too much. Ahui has a gentle and dignified temperament, and she manages the inner house with great order. It's my good fortune to have married her."

  As he spoke, he looked at Ling with deep affection and sincerity.

  Ling's heart was filled with both joy and apprehension.

  Fortunately, Lu An had not been so affectionate with her for a long time. What's worrying is that Old Lady Ling spoke in this manner, and as soon as Lu An heard it, she knew that she must have said something to offend her in front of Old Lady Ling, and was certainly unhappy about it. At the moment, she had a smile all over her face, but after dispersing from the banquet and returning to her room, who knows what kind of expression she would have...

  Mrs. Ling smiled: "As long as my son-in-law doesn't mind me being talkative, that's fine." After a pause, she continued: "Ahui has been married for so many years and hasn't come back to her mother's house; this time she's back, I want to keep her here for a few more days."

  Lu An smiled and said, "This is also a matter of course."

  After chatting for a while, Lu An returned to his position.

  ......

  Ling Jingyu sat at the same table with her cousins and aunts.

  The Great Zhou Dynasty ruled the world with loyalty and filial piety, and for nearly twenty years, the borders have been peaceful and free of war. As a result, it has become increasingly focused on literature and neglectful of military affairs. The most noble pursuit is to take the imperial examination and enter officialdom. This atmosphere has long been prevalent among the aristocratic families, making reading books the top priority.

  This atmosphere also extended to women. Any family with a good economic situation would invite a female teacher to teach their daughters to read and write, let alone the Ling family, which was such a big clan.

  One by one, chewing on words and phrases, it's nothing out of the ordinary.

  On such occasions, Ling Jingxuan usually takes the lead. However, she had no interest today, hastily ate a few mouthfuls and put down her chopsticks, after which she remained silent.

  Ling Jing was secretly puzzled in her heart, but she couldn't wait for Ling Jing to remain silent and not steal the spotlight from herself.

  Ling Jingxian warmly chatted with Ling Jingyan: "Yan sister, we were born only a month apart. Unfortunately, you've been living in the capital with Uncle and Aunt all these years, and I haven't had the chance to get close to you. Now that you're back, we finally have the opportunity to bond properly."

  Ling Jingyan was the eldest daughter of the main house, seventh in line. Due to her long-term residence in the capital, she had a somewhat arrogant and self-satisfied attitude, and upon hearing this, she smiled faintly: "Father has taken a long leave of absence, planning to stay in Dingzhou for two months before returning to the capital. In the future, there will indeed be many opportunities to get close."

  Mention Dingzhou, and one can't help but reveal a hint of arrogance and pride.

  Ling Jingxian bumped into a soft nail and felt somewhat resentful in her heart.

  Hmph, what's so great about that. Isn't it just because your uncle is an official in the capital that you have the opportunity to live in the capital? Otherwise, you should also be living in the Ling family's old mansion in Dingzhou.

  Ling Jingyan's bright and moving appearance, dressed in exquisite attire, was obviously the popular style from the capital. She almost immediately outshone the others.

  Ling Jingxian felt a sense of discontent in her heart, and with a flicker of her eyes, she smiled and said: "Why hasn't my cousin spoken all day?"

  So she pretended to be enthusiastic and said to Ling Jingyan, "Sister Yan, you rarely come back, there are some things you don't know. Sister Ju is well-read in poetry and books, has outstanding talent, and is also good at cultivating famous peonies. In our Dingzhou City, she is indeed a renowned beauty! Someone even gave her the title of 'Dingzhou's Number One Beauty'!"

  Both are legitimate daughters of the Ling family, but while Ling Jingxu is famous in Dingzhou, Ling Jingyan is unknown there. With her proud and arrogant personality, after hearing this, she must have felt resentful.

  As expected, Ling Jingyan heard such a meaningful provocation and suddenly became unhappy. Looking at Ling Jingxiao's beautiful face, she said with a smile: "Oh? I didn't expect that my sister would also be good at planting peonies."

  This word also has a subtle hint of gunpowder flavor.

  Ling Jingxu finally looked up and glanced at Ling Jingyan.

  It turns out that Ling Jingyan is also a tragic figure.

  In her previous life, Ling Jingyan accidentally met the King of Yan and secretly fell in love with him. Given the status of the Ling family, she thought that marrying the King of Yan as his main consort was not suitable for her, but being a secondary consort might just be barely acceptable. However, Master Ling insisted on upholding tradition and supported the Crown Prince's faction, so he naturally wouldn't let his daughter marry the King of Yan as a secondary consort. He hastily arranged another marriage for Ling Jingyan instead.

  Ling Jingyan was unwilling in her heart, but she couldn't disobey her father's orders.

  Later, the Crown Prince's party suffered a loss, and the Crown Prince was abolished. The King of Yan was established as the heir apparent. **Feathers were cleared, and Mr. Ling was the first to be affected. He was accused of corruption and thrown into the heavenly prison. The Ling family spent all their efforts and half of their family's wealth to save Mr. Ling's life.

  Ling Jingyan's originally settled marriage engagement also became a bubble dream due to this prison disaster.

  Later, Ling Jingyan returned to Dingzhou with her parents. As she was getting older and the family's situation was bleak, they couldn't find a good match for her either. A matchmaker came to propose a marriage, but the other party was over thirty years old, had a bunch of concubines at home, not to mention that he already had sons from both his wife and concubines.

  Ling Jingyan's life after marriage was not smooth. Later, she encountered a difficult childbirth and died in the process, leaving behind her infant child.

  Thinking of this, Ling Jingxu sighed in her heart and didn't have the mood to argue with Ling Jingyan anymore. She said lightly: "I'm idle and have nothing to do, occasionally passing time in the garden. Outsiders don't know the inside story, so they spread rumors."